By Dave Kavanagh

A question I usually include when helping clients with their finances, is, how long (if at all) their employer will pay them if they are out of work long term due to illness or injury. In some cases, it is standard and can be something like 3 months at full pay, then 3 months at half pay and then a pensionable rate of pay. For many, they are not sure and when they look through their employment contract, it states “at employer’s discretion”. Many people realised how vulnerable they were when the pandemic arrived, dropping some incomes from €600 or €800 per week down to €350 of PUP. Many don’t give much consideration to how they would cope if they suffered a loss of income for an extended period because they think “it’ll never happen to me”. Sadly, many find out the hard way following an injury or illness that keeps them out of work for months or even years. This is where having Income Protection in place, can be the difference between maintaining a level of income that keeps your lifestyle virtually unchanged, or dropping to a level that could force you to use up any savings and also get into financial difficulty.
So how does it work? Depending on your circumstances, you choose an appropriate level of cover. This is based on not exceeding 75% of your salary, less any state income entitlement. You also choose a “deferred period” which refers to how long you are off work before payments commence. The premiums are based on factors like your age and occupation, as some occupations would leave you more at risk of not being able to work. There is also tax relief on premiums paid for income protection, which could mean up to 40% of your premium is refunded by way of adjusting your tax credits. If dropping from your current income to the current state benefit is something that would impact badly on you, perhaps it is time to consider.

Dave Kavanagh QFA has been advising people financially for over 25 years. For quotes or information (with no cost or obligation) he can of course also be contacted by you by emailing info@financialcompanion.ie or you can also use the contact form on www.financialcompanion.ie or @Davekav_advice on Twitter and Instagram.

Combined with his previous role of gym/nutrition adviser, he regularly gives talks and workshops at seminars and events for groups, companies and government departments on financial wellbeing, positivity and motivation. As heard on RTE 2FM, LMFM and TV3.

by Jon Kavanagh

Ah, the 1980’s: Barry McGuigan thanking Mr Eastwood, Denis Taylor looking at the world through upside down glasses, a Geordie in a flat cap sparking soccer fever, Music Television USA and the proliferation of pirate radio stations across the land. Seeing an opportunity, Loughshinny man the late Brian Matthews, sets up CRF Community Radio Fingal (189 medium wave) in the Rockabill Hotel in Skerries. Brian, a natural broadcaster, assembles a motley crew to run the station. Soon, they build up a large, loyal listenership. In the innocent days before social media people love to hear a request played for them. Much to the embarrassment of my mortified mother (“Don’t be making a show of yourself!”, she urges), I begin penning onion letters to the station. In one such epistle I paraphrase Lincon to describe CRF as ‘A station of the people, for the people, by the people’. Impressed, Brian invites me to get involved and allocates me a Sunday afternoon slot to spin a few disks. In a Walter Mitty state of mind, I don my helmet, kick start my trusty Honda 50, load the white carrier box (a must accessory) with vinyl records and set forth to become the next Terry Wogan. Following a fire in the hotel, the station is now situated in Brian’s back garden. “The studio” is housed in a small shed that looks suspiciously like a decommissioned outside convenience. The equipment is basic: a couple of turntables, a standard cassette player and a mike resembling a tennis ball that has been chewed by a bulldog. Like all pirates, CRF keep on the move in a bid to outrun Post and Telegraph officials who are launching raiding parties to seize transmitters. Broadcast locations include the basement of the old Quinnsworth in Balbriggan and the newly opened Castle Shopping Centre in Swords. New equipment including a small caravan for outside broadcasts is acquired as sister station Pulsar 98FM comes on air. On New Year’s Eve 1988 the era that demystified broadcasting comes to an end as all pirate stations switch off. You won’t be surprised to hear I didn’t become the next Terry Wogan. But thanks to Brian and the golden age of pirate radio I go on to work in licensed community radio.

By Jack Shanley

Deep End is about British culture in London when the optimism of the “Swinging Sixties” started to fade. It’s a fantastic film that delves into the perspective of a young boy named Mike (John Moulder-Brown) and his obsession with not just women but essentially one woman in a coworker named Susan (Jane Asher). There is this infatuation that grows to pure obsession that I can’t help but get lost in. For me most of the truly great and rather interesting films all delve into the topic of obsession. It’s this mentality that someone is so focused on something or someone for instance that it becomes compulsive as they lose control of their emotions and never is it more evident than in Skolimowski’s Deep End. Most movies from the 70s showed the 60s as a bubble of shining positive thinking and star-studded youth developments. Skolimowski reveals the dark side of young peoples lives, how their lives are not important, and a sexual desire. Mike throughout the movie thinks about investigating the broken life and relationship of Susan, but it leads to his pure frustration getting him nowhere. When watching the film, you spend a lot of time taking in all the gorgeousness Skolimowski has on offer. His use of texture is fantastic. There is an amazing scene, towards the end of the movie, where Mike and Susan are lying on a bed of towels and sheets that are placed in such a way to foreshadow an underwater swirling effect seen later in the film The director’s diligence is amazing. The costumes in this film are also excellent. Deep End is a remarkably interesting movie. It is surprising that Skolimowski’s movie was not a big success at the time, although the studio didn’t promote it well enough. It’s a film that holds up to this day as an underrated classic. In all truth I’d recommend checking out Deep End and see what you think of it, I shall give it a score of Five Stars. You can buy Deep End for €10 on eBay. Director Jerzy Skolimowski – Rating: R – Genre: Romance/Comedy – Run Time: 1h 30m Language: English. For more film content please follow @movies4fanatics on Instagram.

For Communion children there is no need to spend a fortune on a dress or suit. They will only wear this for a few hours so don’t feel pressure to spend hundreds of euros. We had a ramble around Ilac SC and found that TK Maxx have very affordable dresses, Dunnes Stores, has a wonderful Communion collection for boys and girls and Dealz are great for decorations, plates, paper cups, balloons etc. Charity shops are a treasure trove for dresses and suits; with amazing outfits from as little as €15! For Mammies who want to dress without spending a fortune, Mykindofdress.com has a huge range of dresses at their flagship store Unit 1, Fashion City Ballymount. Open 11-4, Mon-Sat and no appointment needed. I picked up a beautiful dress on their website for my daughters Confirmation and used discount code MAMS30 for 30% off. The dresses are reasonably priced already but the discount code, makes them even more affordable! For Dads and siblings, Penney’s is great. From cute dresses for girls to snazzy chinos, shirts and waistcoats for boys and Dads. As always, plenty to choose from and budget friendly. On the day itself, if hosting family and friends at home, don’t be afraid to ask family members to bring a dish or dessert along. We always do this in our family. My sister-in-law brings her yummy homemade profiteroles, and my aunt brings her famous lasagna. It eases the burden on parents a little. If you would rather go out; look for well-priced Communion packages. Bracken Court Hotel Balbriggan have a few different Communion menu options to choose from, depending on your budget and you can rest assured the food, service and atmosphere will be great. We have had many family events there throughout the years and always find them accommodating. Most of all, enjoy the day and try not to stress. The most important thing is that the child enjoys their special day! For more helpful tips, go to mams.ie

Courtesy of Malahide Historical Society

At this time of year in the 1830’s, it was popular in the past to take ‘the pledge’ after the Christmas excesses. The Pledge was a commitment not to take alcohol and was inspired and promoted by The Total Abstinence Society founded by the famous Fr Theobald Matthew in 1838. He paid a high profile visit to Malahide as part of the celebrations for the opening of St. Sylvester’s Church in July 1846, as recounted in the Freeman’s Journal:

“We perceive that the new Catholic church of Malahide will be dedicated upon Sunday next. The ceremony—the most interesting, perhaps, of all those by which the Catholic church stimulates—and elevates the piety of her children, will be performed by the venerated prelate of this diocese, the most Rev. Dr. Murray. The dedication sermon will be preached by the Very. Rev. T. Matthew. We understand that the completion of this holy edifice depends in a great degree upon the amount of the contributions which the congregation on this occasion may be pleased to bestow.The district of Malahide is far from wealthy, and the people have contributed already to the full extent of their means. The Right Hon. Lord Talbot De Malahide, with great liberality, as well of means as of mind, generously contributed one hundred pounds to the building fund, and we understand his Lordship has promised a further subscription at a future period. We have no doubt that the appeal of Sunday next will enable the excellent Catholic rector, the Rev. Mr. Fleming, to proceed in his good and pious work, and to complete a beautiful edifice dedicated to the service of the Almighty Father of all.

A Select Choir will attend, under the management of Mr. Gormley, of Saints Michael and Johns’ Church. Admission to the Sanctuary for a family of Five is £1; Individuals are 5s. each Admission to the body of church, 2s/6d each. The Very Rev. Mr. Matthew will administer the Pledge after the ceremonies of the day. Increased accommodation will be afforded on the Railway”. It is not recorded how many took the pledge in Malahide that day but at its height, just before the Great Famine of 1845–49, his movement enrolled some 3 million people, or more than half of the adult population of Ireland.

By Jonathan Kavanagh

Take a stroll around Swords or any local town and one is immediately impressed by the number of restaurants offering fine cuisine from around the globe. We are truly spoiled for choice. In days of yore, dining out has not yet entered our psyche. Our tastebuds go unchallenged. The free-standing kitchen cabinet, complete with drop down work board, contains the basics to quell our hunger and keep us upright. Meat and home-grown vegetables most days of the week. On Fridays, the scent of “fresh” herrings perfumes the air as the fishman roams the district in his Volkswagen pickup truck. On Sundays and special occasions desert: jelly and custard, rice with added raisins boiled to near annihilation, tapioca or semolina are added to the menu. We eat in season; with mushrooms straight from the fields simmered in milk with a generous helping of pepper, blanched new season nettles believed to have health benefits, and blackberries straight from the bush among our favourite treats. A bottle of chicory which tastes like a hybrid of brown sauce and sandpaper is as close as we come to Noel Purcell’s ‘heaven with coffee at eleven’. St Patrick’s Day finds my mother (best described as a chef de rough ‘n’ ready), sporting her green apron, as she unwraps an aesthetically displeasing lump of bacon, she bought in a corner shop. Incidentally, not a health regulation in sight as the shopkeeper cuts cooked and uncooked meat on the same slicer. Bedecked with a sprig of shamrock in the band of his hat, my father brings in the last of head of winter cabbage from the garden. My mother turns up her ‘How many pair of hands do you think I have?’ expression, as she despatches any squatting insects lurking in the cabbage leaves to a watery grave in the sink. His contribution made; my father sits down to read the newspaper. Like many men of his generation, he sees domesticity as a dark art best not tampered with. With well loaded plates, new oil cloth on the table and not a mobile phone in sight, we sit down to celebrate our national holiday in an age of simplicity.

By Jack Shanley

“All of us Strangers,” directed by acclaimed filmmaker Andrew Haigh, is a thought-provoking and emotionally charged drama that delves into the intricate web of human connections. Released in 2023, the film skilfully weaves together the lives of seemingly unrelated characters, exploring themes of loneliness, alienation, and the quest for meaningful connection. All of us strangers is a film that captures the beautiful essence of encountering a lost loved one in a dream. Many films have come along about grief but none like this. It’s a sensual, romantic and yet heartbreaking look at life through the eyes of an everyday man whose life has never really turned out the way he wanted. With extraordinary performances from both Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal the film really shapes out to put you on an emotional Journey. All of us Strangers unravels as a simple yet strange narrative exploring themes of isolation, identity, grief, and the lingering ghosts of one’s past. I found this film to be profoundly captivating, with its dreamlike atmosphere, heartbreaking moments, and a touch of melancholy adding to its beauty. With 2023 having some impressive films ‘All of us Strangers’ is way up the list amongst the best of 2023. Its with films like this that shall stay with you forever, only be different as you get older with every viewing of it, it shall remain the same film but is only different as you’ve changed, this for me is the pure definition of cinema. In conclusion, “All of us Strangers” is a compelling exploration of the human experience. Andrew Haigh’s directorial prowess, coupled with a stellar cast and a fantastic script, makes this film a poignant and relevant piece of cinema that will leave audiences contemplating the intricate dance of human connection long after the credits roll. In all truth I’d recommend checking out “All of us Strangers” at your local cinema and see what you think of it, I shall give it a score of Four stars. Director Andrew Haigh – Rating: 16 – Genre: Romance/Fantasy – Run Time: 1h 45m Language: English. For more film content please follow @movies4fanatics on Instagram.

By Siobhan O’Neill White

This month it’s all about the Mammies! On 10th March, ‘Mother’s Day’, us hard working Mammies are ‘supposed’ to get the day off and have someone else do the cooking, cleaning and the million other things we do daily. Of course, its lovely to give a gift to your Mam or get a gift from your children but for me, the best gifts are usually the ones that don’t cost a thing. One of my best memories is my children bringing me Mother’s Day breakfast in bed.. Because they were too young to boil the kettle, they made the tea with lukewarm water from the tap. This was proudly presented beside a salad sandwich (at 8am!)! There was broken cheese, lettuce and chunks of tomato. They weren’t able to spread the butter as it was cold from the fridge, so the butter was also in chunks! But you know what – it’s one of my favourite Mother’s Day memories. Their efforts made me feel so loved. Was I able to eat it? Not quite but the gesture was enough to put me in a great mood. And what made me even happier was when my husband offered to take a few bites when the kids left the room so they wouldn’t be disappointed that I didn’t eat it! Another favourite gift was given to me last year. My youngest, who is so good at arts and crafts made me a ticket machine and every time I pulled out a ticket there was a little message on it, like ‘Here’s a hug’ or ‘I Luv U’. I’ve saved some of them in the back of my phone so whenever I turn it over, I am reminded that my youngest loves me. She will be a teenager before I know so I am relishing these little gestures of love while I can still get them! If your Mam is no longer with you, its ok to feel sad. You may want to be alone or with loved ones – you should do what feels right for you and please be extra kind to yourself if you’re having a hard day. Wishing you all the best for March 10th. Siobhán @mams.ie x
Shortlisted for Golden Spider Award & Infant & Maternity Award
As seen on RTE and Virgin Media Ireland & Weekend AM
As heard on Today FM’s Ian Dempsey & Dermot & Dave; RTE’s Ray D’Arcy Show, 98FM, LMFM Late Lunch, WLRFM & Shannonside FM

By Dave Kavanagh

In the last few claims, I have processed (death claims, serious illness claims and income protection claims) there was something that they all had in common. None of them knew what cover they actually had in place. Some were unsure whether there was sufficient cover in place to clear their mortgage (which is often the case. Consider all of the people that took 6 months’ payment breaks during Covid. Their mortgage protection cover continued to reduce while their mortgage balances slightly increased.) Some thought they had serious illness cover because we had discussed it a couple of years back, but they never actually got around to commencing it. It was yet another reminder that most people do not know the important details of plans that they pay regularly for. As people’s circumstances change, it’s important to be up to date with knowing what you are actually paying for. Here is the very least that you should know about any protection plans that you have in place:

Life Cover: How much cover is there? When does it expire? Is it dual or joint? Does it have a conversion option? Is it level, increasing or decreasing? How much does it cost?

Income Protection: What is the deferred period? (The length of time you have to be off work due to illness or injury before payments commence). What level of cover do I have? Up to what age will payments continue if I could never return to work again? How much does it cost? Have I claimed my tax relief? (I.P. premiums are tax deductible).

Serious Illness Cover: A.K.A. Critical Illness Cover or Specified Illness Cover. What level of cover do I have? Is it stand alone or accelerated cover? Is it dual or joint? When does it expire? Do I have the option to extend cover without further medical evidence? If you don’t know those details, it’s time to get out the paperwork and find out. You’ll be glad you did.

By Dave Kavanagh

Capital Acquisition Tax includes Inheritance Tax and Gift Tax. In 2022 in Ireland, there was over €600 million collected in Capital Acquisition Tax. It also includes estates that may have been taxed in previous generations. For example, if someone left an estate worth €1,000,000 to an only daughter, she would (in the current tax year) have a tax bill of almost €220,000. After she pays the bill and puts what’s left in the bank, any interest is taxed (DIRT). Guess what happens when she passes and leaves her estate behind? It’s taxed again! Spouses can leave any amount to each other tax free. After that, the three thresholds are, a) Children - €335,000, b) Other close relatives - €32,500 and c) All others (including cohabiting partners) - €16,250. Everything received above these is taxed at 33%.

So, is there any way to prevent it? There are two main actions that can either reduce or eradicate such a tax bill. The first is to take the time to plan when making a will. Let’s say a value of €750,000 was being left to 2 adult children. (Not a big estate if you combine a house, savings and a life policy). This would create a tax bill of over €25,000. Instead, if €670,000 of it was left to the 2 children and the balance between a few grandchildren, there is no tax bill. The second thing that can be done is for the person leaving the estate to take out a Section 72 plan. This is a type of life policy that is allowed to pay any tax liability without adding to the value of the estate. It becomes particularly important for anybody that does not have children to plan things out, as even other relatives can only receive €32,500 before any balance is taxed. These thresholds are particularly important for anybody in the process of planning or making their will.